This past year has been one where the world saw the true embrace of
social media and just how quickly mobile technologies have been
adopted. We saw how social media was used by President Obama to
effectively gain enough votes to win a second term in office. We
saw how viral marketing was used by a Korean rapper named PSY to get
the entire world dancing “Gangnam style”. More importantly we watched
companies like Samsung, Apple, and Microsoft rock the computer
landscape with the explosion of tablet technology.

What does this mean for marketers creating plans for 2013? It
means that consumers are becoming eager to try new technologies, and
will be looking for new ways to shop and review products. Savvy
marketers are going to have to align with these new trends in order to
capitalize on every opportunity to continue to drive sales and expand
their customer base. Here are my personnel three picks for trends
to watch in 2013:

Tablets are exploding in the marketplace and are
very quickly overtaking the sale of desktops and laptops. This is
mainly due to their portability, ease of use, and the ability to enable
users to access information rapidly. For marketers this means
that consumers now have the ability to spend more time on web pages and
opened the opportunity for them to view content no matter where they
are almost 24 / 7. This means that websites need to be optimized
for viewing on tablets and mobile devices. They need to be clean,
and the message needs to be clear and effective. Consumers are
now empowered with the ability to quickly move through websites and
their inboxes with simply a swipe of their finger. Clear, clean and
concise messaging that is tablet friendly will be a key to continuing
grow customer bases.

Cloud- based services are quickly becoming
very popular with consumers. This can be attributed to the
explosion of mobile technologies, and in my opinion a desire by
corporations to improve their bottom line. Let’s face it,
software upgrades are expensive and time consuming. What if a
company did not have to worry about purchasing new licences and new
software every time a sales force grew, or a new version of software is
released? This is why companies choose to use services like
salesforce.com. A subscription based CRM that can be used on any
platform simply through an internet browser. Microsoft has
embraced this concept with the new Office 365. Office 365 is a
cloud-based service that positions itself as helping businesses reduce
overhead by eliminating the need of an IT department. This
becomes an extremely appealing prospect for small businesses.
Simply pay a monthly fee, and never worry about upgrading software
again. For marketers this means that they need to take a look at
the products and services that their company offers and decide if there
is any angle to leverage as a cloud-based service.

Social Media Focus Groups to keep customers
engaged. The true power from social media comes from the instant
satisfaction of the individual feeling engaged. McDonald’s has
been running effective campaigns throughout 2012 that promote the
ability for McDonald’s customers to ask questions about their food
http://yourquestions.mcdonalds.ca/. A highly effective way of
gathering data from their customers about their eating habits,
purchases, and potential new menu items. I have used Facebook to
gain advice from my friends and associates when I was putting together
a bid for a marketing contract with a nail salon. I got a ton of
responses from the wives and girlfriends of many of my buddies giving
me some of the greatest market research I could have ever asked for to
complete the bid. People want to be engaged, and in 2013 that
desire will only get stronger. Marketers can capitalize on this
by effectively using social media platforms as an open channel to
engage their customers, make them feel valued, and increase their brand
awareness.

When I was writing this article I try to select three trends that would
have an impact on the Building Automation industry. These are
three trends that I feel marketers in the industry can effectively
utilize to drive sales and increase the loyalty of their customer
base. 2013 will prove to be an extremely exciting year for
marketers as technology continues to move forward and social media
continues to integrate itself into all of our lives. I am excited
to see what new and creative ideas these trends will inspire from
marketers in the industry in the upcoming year.